Means for attaching a dispensing valve to a pressurized dispenser with a lock ring

ABSTRACT

A dispensing valve has a skirt with an internal annular flange for receipt over a bead in the dome of a standard pressurized dispenser. The external axially extending surface of the skirt is tapered and the top of the skirt is capped by an annular external flange. A lock ring having an internal taper complementing that of the skirt is adapted to be received over the skirt&#39;&#39;s taper and locked in place by the external flange. The lock ring prevents the skirt from expanding under the pressure of the dispenser while allowing the skirt to be expanded over the bead when attaching the valve to the dome.

United States Patent 91 Bruce et a1.

[ 1 June 5, 1973 [22] Filed: Feb. 10, 1971 [21] Appl. No.: 114,217

[52] US. Cl. ..222/153, 222/394, 220/67 [51] Int. Cl. ..B67b 3/00 [58] Field of Search ..222/l53, 394, 398-40225; 29/453; 229/5.7; 220/55 AN, 67 X, 66;

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,081,917 3/1963 Quercia ..222/394 .lll lllll 3,227,321 1/1966 Sagarin ..222/402.l3 3,199,741 8/1965 Lehmann ..222/394 X 3,212,680 10/1965 Crowell et a1. ..222/402.l3

Primary ExaminerSamuel F. Coleman Assistant ExaminerLarry Martin Attorney-Christie, Parker 8; Hale [57] ABSTRACT A dispensing valve has a skirt with an internal annular flange for receipt over a bead in the dome of a standard pressurized dispenser. The external axially extending surface of the skirt is tapered and the top of the skirt is capped by an annular external flange. A lock ring having an internal taper complementing that of the skirt is adapted to be received over the skirt's taper and locked in place by. the external flange. The lock ring prevents the skirt from expanding under the pressure of the dispenser while allowing the skirt to be expanded over the bead when attaching the valve to the dome.

10 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures 9 MEANS FOR ATTACHING A DISPENSING VALVE TO A PRESSURIZED DISPENSER WITH A LOCK RING BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to the art of dispensers for containing pressurized products and, more in particular, to an improved means of attachment of a dispensing valve used to selectively discharge product from such a dispenser.

Pressurized fluid dispensers are extremely popular. These dispensers maintain a product to be dispensed under pressure within them. A dispensing valve is employedto selectively discharge the product.

Heretofore the dispensing valve has been mounted to the pressurized dispenser, typically on a valve cup which in turn was mounted on a dome. The valve cup has an annular bead which overlies a complementary bead of the dome. The cup is attached to the dome by crimping of the cup wall axially inward of its bead so that the cups bead and the crimped areas of the cup wall clamp the domes bead between them. More specifically, crimping is done by a multichucked crimping apparatus which expands portions of the wall of the valve cup radially outward beneath the bead of the dome. Because of the requirement for radial movement of the crimping chucks to crimp the valve cup, spaces are left between crimped areas.

These uncrimped areas of the cup often do not bear sufficiently against the sealant used between the cup and the dome to effect a satisfactory seal. When this occurs, the dispenser must be rejected.

Moreover, the requirement for crimping the valve cup to the dome entails considerable tool expense and maintenance problems. For example, the crimping chucks must be maintained in excellent condition and synchronized if the desired number of crimped joints and degree of crimping are to be effected.

Another problem confronted with the use of valve cups to mount the dispensing valve of pressurized dispensers is in the compatibility of product with material from which the cups are made. While protective coat- 7 ings are available, they are not always effective because of uncoated areas resulting from the fabrication of the cups. Because of cost consideration, cup material, typically tinplated steel, is coated in a preformed, flat condition. After coating, the cup is shaped and fabricated. During fabrication, a hole is punched for the stem of the dispensing valve. The wall of this hole is not coated. In addition, the bead and the annular channel between the bead and the stem mounting portion of the valve is formed which can cause cracking of the coating to expose the metal. Metal exposure is also caused by scratching ofthe coating which occurs during valve cup fabrication, feeding to assembly areas, and assembly in a dispenser. In short, the conversion of a flat sheet into a valve cup of complex configuration adversely affects the protective coating. Obviously, the necessity for drilling holes destroys the protective effect of the coating in these areas. Moreover, crimping, bending and handling of the cups have a tendency to crack or otherwise expose the bare coating of the metal to the product within the dispenser.

As a consequence of the inability to fully protect valve cups with protective coatings, compatibility between product and cups presents serious problems.

is subsequently crimped to the dome of the dispenser. I

Thistwo-stage crimping operation is not desirable for it complicates assembly procedure. It is preferred, in short, to reduce the number of assembly steps to a minimum.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention overcomes problems of product compatibility with metal valve cups, unreliability of the seal between the valve cups and their domes, relatively complicated assembly procedures and the problems attendant with expensive and maintenance-prone crimping equipment. These problems are overcome by a dispensing valve construction where the valve is attached over a bead of the dispenser and maintained there by a lock ring.

More particularly, the present invention provides a dispensing valve for a pressurized dispenser which has a base with an internal flange adapted to fit over a bead bounding an opening into the dispenser. The wall thickness of the base is such that it can be displaced to fit over the bead. A look ring is subsequently placed over the base to prevent its expansion from pressure within the dispenser exerted by a propellant.

A more particular form of the present-invention contemplates an improved dispensing valve having a housing with an annular skirt at its base. The annular, internal flange is formed inthe skirt and is adapted to pass over an annular head of the dispenser to reside in a recess between the annular bead and an axial adjacent portion of the dispenser in overlapping relationship with the bead. Thus, the inwardly extending flange is adapted to secure the housing of the valve to the dispenser and to retain the housing of the valve on the 'dispenser by action of the dispenser bead in preventing axial displacement of the housing. An annular lock ring is adapted to engage the skirt to prevent expansion of the skirt because of internal pressures within the dispenser. The annular lock ring is necessitated by the re quirement that the skirt be sufficiently flexible to pass over the bead during the housing's installation. The required flexibility is too great for the skirt alone to hold itself on against propellant pressures.

In preferred form the skirt is axially tapered, with the taper converging away from the end of the skirt towards the valves actuating mechanism. The skirt also has an external annular flange at its top. The lock ring has a complementary tapered female surface for engaging the externally tapered surface of the skirt and for passing over the skirts external flange. Thus, in assembly, the skirts external flange will maintain the lock ring in place against axial displacement in one direction while the taper prevents axial displacement in the 0pposite direction. It is also preferred to provide position- I ing lugs in the base of the housing to abut the top of the bead of the dispenser. These lugs cooperate with the 3 internal flange to properly position the housing withre spect to the dispenser. The upper surface of theannular flange and the adjacent surface of the skirt are shaped to conform to the shape of the bead. This shape conformity enables surface-to-surface contact and a very good seal. It is also preferred to provide a pilot taper as the lower surface of the flange to facilitate expanding the flange over the bead. I Y n n The lock ring is preferably formed with an. annular channel between an inside wall and an outside wall. At regular intervals around this channel stiffening ribs are provided which extend between the internaland external walls. The external wallof the lock ring is adapted to extend into a trough or recess of the dome proximate the seam which joins the dome with the dispen'sers body.

These and other features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become more apparentfrom the following description, appended claims and draw ings. e

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES v FIG. lis a view, partly fragmented, and partly inhalf section, of a presently preferred formof the dispensing valve of the presentinvention as it is mounted on a dispenser;

FlG l; a

FIG. 3 is a bottom view of the lock ring of the present invention; and I present invention.

DESCRIPTION OFTHE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT, a

This description will proceed initially withre ference f to FIG. 1. In this Figure, reference numeral lfl'designates a dispenser which is a combination of a dispens ing valve 12 and a dispenser preassembly 14. a

The dispensing valve includes a valving mechanism 16 which is adapted to selectively discharge a product from the interior of dispenser 10. 2

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view, taken in the arealZ-Z of upper surface of flange 36 and the adjacent innersurfaceofthe skirt merge into each other and have a shape 1 conformingto that of the bead to obtain surface-tosurface engagement between the bead on the one'hand and the surfaces of the flange and inner wall of the skirt on the other.

During assembly, the dispensing valve is pressed over bead 26 such that flange 36 expands radially outward to clear the bead and pass into the recess. To facilitate this'assembly, flange36 has a frusto-conical pilot surface 44, the taper of which is in a direction which, upon bearing on bead 26 will tend to expand the skirt, namely, converging away from the dome.

After skirt 32 of the dispensing valve is in place over bead 26 of dome 22 a lock ring 46 is placed over the skirt. The lock ring has an internal, frusto-conical surface 48 which complementsthe tapered external surface of skirt 32, and,'in place, as illustrated in FIG. 2, engages this surface of the skirt. Thus the complementary maleand female tapered surfaces of the skirt and lock ring prevent movement of the lock ring axially towards dispenser body 18. An annular flange 50 of the skirt extendsaround the top of tapered surface 34' to engage a complementary annular, radially extending shoulder52 of lock ring'46. The engagement of shoulder 5 2 and flange 50 prevents the lock ring from mov:

ing out of engagement withthe skirt by moving axially away from the dispenserbody.

V 7 FIG. 4 is a bottom view of the valve housing of the Dispenser preassembly 14 has a body 18 closed by a The lock/ring hasan outer, annular'wall 54 which,as

is evident from FIG. 1, extends into a trough or groove of the dome located immediately inward of the seam which'joins the dome with the body. Between this outer wall and the inner wall is a channel 58, the inner wall defining tapered surface 48 and being designated by reference numeral 56. This channel extends annularly' around the Iock ring. A plurality of ribs 60 extend radially betweenthe inner andthe outer wall of the lock ring to divide the channel into arc-shaped sectionsAs is seen in FIG. 3, sixteen of these ribs are provided. The

function of the ribs is to prevent the loss of circularity of the inner surface of the lock ring because of cooling after the lock ring has been molded. The purpose of the channel is to admit to some flexibility of the inner wall of the lock ring so that it can successfully pass flange without destroying it and to avoid sections of relatively large mass. The latter is required in good molding practice to facilitate cycle time and to maintain good dimensional stability. An upper surface 62 of lock ring With reference to FIG. 2, dispensing valve 12 has a' housing 30. A base 31 of the housing includes an annular skirt 32. This skirt has an axially extending, tapered external surface 34. The taper of this surface converges in a direction away from dome 22. An annular, internal flange 36 is at the end of skirt 32 and engages bead 26 t in a recess defined by the bead between it and aproximate portion of the dome. The recess isindicated by reference numeral 38. A plurality of positioning lugs 40 are integrally formed with skirt 32 and a generally frusto-conical transition section 42 of the valve to engage the upper surface of bead 26 and properly position the dispensing valve with respect to the dome and the balance of the dispenser. In assembly the lugs cooperate with flange 36 to compressively engage bead26. The

46 has a taper generally the same as the exposed surface of transition section 42. Proceeding with the description of dispensing valve 12, transition section 42 extends intoa pedestal section 64 which in turn is capped by a hollow barrel 66. The barrel contains a substantialportion of valveactuating mechanism 16. In general, the valve actuating mechanism includes a plug 68 which seats at an endo'f a product passage or chamber 70 formed in the barrel on an annular seat 72. A nozzle 74 provides for egress of product from the product passage. A cup seal 76 is disposed at the rear end of the plug. This seal prevents product from passing past it ,intothe rear portion of the barrels interior. A

spring 78 is provided between a closure cap 80 and Y plug 68 to bias the plug against seat 72. The spring constant of this spring is such that at a predetermined pressure above normal operating pressure acting on the cup seal the spring will admit to movement of the plug away from the seat for the venting of the interior of the dispenser. This venting reduces any excess pressure buildup within the dispenser to tolerable levels. An actuator 82 is secured through a stem 84 to plug 68 for the actuation of the valving mechanism.

Pedestal section 64 has a product passage 86 which extends axially of the dispenser to communicate product passage 70 with the interior of the dispenser proper. This communication is effected through a tube 88. This tube can act as a mounting for a dip tube or the like.

In assembly, the valve housing is placed over bead 26 of adispenser body and pressed into place. This necessitates the expansion of skirt 32 so that internal radial flange 36 can pass over bead or curl 26. Thereafter lock ring 46 is pressed into place. The lock ring passes over flange 50 and snaps into place in the recess below this flange, as is best illustrated in FIG. 2. The mouth of the lock ring has a diameter greater than the diameter of flange 50 to pilot the lock ring as it is being mounted on the skirt.

The lock ring increases the resistance of the valve housing against radial expansion from internal pressure forces exerted by a pressurized product within the dispenser.

To actuate the assembled valve, one merely depresses actuator 82 to draw plug 68 rearwardly away from seat 72 for the discharge of product.

In some applications it may be desirable to form skirt 32 such that flange 36 has an inner diameter which is relatively small in comparison to the outer diameter of bead or curl 26. In this instance it will be necessary to heat the skirt slightly to soften it for its passage over the bead or curl. Upon cooling, the skirt will contract tightly against the bead to form intimate seal therewith. It should be noted that the interior wall of the skirt axially above the flange and the upper surface of the flange are curved to complement the curvature of the bead. This provides for intimate surface contact between the skirt and the bead which acts as a seal.

In some applications it may be possible to form the lock ring and the skirt together. This may be done by a plurality of generally axially extending ribs supporting the lock ring above the skirt. In this configuration the ribs would be fractured and the lock ring driven over the skirt to its position illustrated in FIG. 1.

The valve design is especially suited for plastic fabrication. As such, compatibility problems between the valve and product to be dispensed are largely overcome. Moreover, there is no need for expensive crimping equipment with the attendant sealing problems associated with valve mechanisms mounted through crimping of a valve cup with a multijaw, radially expanding chuck.

What is claimed is:

1. An improved dispensing valve for a pressurized dispenser comprising:

a. a housing having an annular, externally tapered skirt with an annular, radially inwardly extending flange adapted to pass over an annular bead of the dispenser to reside in a recess between the annular bead and an axially adjacent portion of the dispenser in overlapping relationship with the bead for securing the housing to the dispenser, the taper of the skirt converging towards the top of the housing, the skirt having an annular external flange at the upper end thereof;

b. an internally tapered annular lock ring for engaging the skirt to prevent expansion thereof because of internal pressures within the dispenser, the taper of the lock ring converging towards the top of the housing and complementing the tapered surface of the skirt for substantially complete engagement of the tapered surface of the skirt, the diameter of the external flange of the skirt being less than the diameter of the largest diameter of the internal taper of the lock ring and larger than the diameter of the smallest diameter of the internal taper of the lock ring, whereby the lock ring can be placed over the external flange of the skirt and engage such flange with the internal taper intermediate the ends thereof and thereafter be forced to expand over the external flange into a locking position with the top of the ring axially adjacent the external flange for retention of the lock ring thereby; and

c. valving means in the housing for selectively dispensing product from the pressurized dispenser.

2. The improved dispensing valve claimed in claim 1 including a plurality of positioning lugs within the housing for engaging the top of the annular bead of the dispenser.

3. The improved dispensing valve claimed in claim 1 wherein the retaining ring has an inner wall for the engagement of the skirt, an outer wall separated from theinner wall by an annular channel, and a plurality of ribs disposed at regularly spaced intervals in the channel between the two walls of the retaining ring.

4. An improvement in the means of attaching a dispensing valve to a dispenser of the type which maintains a product under pressure for selective dispensation through the dispensing valve, the improvement comprising:

a. an annular skirt at the base of the dispensing valve having an internal annular flange adapted to be received in an annular recess defined by a bead and a proximate portion of the dispenser, the flange having an internal diameter less than the external diameter of the bead, the skirt having an externally tapered, axially extending, annular surface with the taper converging in a direction away from the axial end of the skirt, and an annular external flange at the inner longitudinal end of the tapered surface; and i b. a lock ring having an annular, internally tapered surface complementing the externally tapered surface of the skirt for engaging the tapered surface of the skirt to prevent the skirt from expanding under internal pressure within the dispenser and free the annular flange from the recess, and an annular, radially extending surface for abutting the external flange of the skirt and preventing the lock ring from disengaging from the skirt.

5. The improvement claimed in claim 4 including a plurality of locating lugs disposed within the skirt for engaging the upper portion of the bead, the locking ring has an internal wall which is the wall adapted to engage the tapered surface of the skirt and an outer wall separated from the inner wall by an annular channel, and a plurality of radially extending ribs connecting the inner and outer walls of the lock ring at regular intervals around the channel.

6. The improvement claimed in claim 4 wherein the internal annular flange of the skirt has a tapered leading surface for expanding the skirt when the skirt is forced over the bead.

7L The improvement claimed in claim 4 whereinthe internal annular flange of the skirt has an upper surface shaped to conform to the lower surface of the bead to develop substantial surface-to-surface engagement.

8. In combination with a dispenser of the type which is adapted to maintain a product to be dispensed under pressure and which has an external annular bead extending radially of an axially adjacent portion of the dispenser to define an annular recess anda dispensing valve on the dispenser for selectively dispensing product, an improvement in the means for attaching the dispensing valve to the balance of the dispenser comprising: I

a. the dispensing valve having a housing with an annular skirt overlying the bead and an annular, radially inwardly directed flange of the skirt received in the recess to attach the housing to the dispenser, the axial outer surface of the skirt being tapered from a free end thereof with the taper converging in a direction away from the dispenser, and an annular flange atthe end of the tapered surface opposite the free end; and

' Y of the skirt merges into the surface of such flange which engages the bead and such interior surface bears against the bead. i

b. a lock ring having {an internally tapered surface complementing the tapered surface of the skirt and in substantially complete contact therewith, and an annular shoulder for abutting the external flange of a 'housinghas a plurality of spaced-apart lugs in engagement with the bead and cooperating with the flange of the skirt to firmly engage the bead, and the internal flange-of the skirt hasa surface in engagement with the bead in surface-to-surface contact'with the bead.

'10; The improvement claimed in claim 9 wherein the interior surface of the skirt adjacent the internal flange 

1. An improved dispensing valve for a pressurized dispenser comprising: a. a housing having an annular, externally tapered skirt with an annular, radially inwardly extending flange adapted to pass over an annular bead of the dispenser to reside in a recess between the annular bead and an axially adjacent portion of the dispenser in overlapping relationship with the bead for securing the housing to the dispenser, the taper of the skirt converging towards the top of the housing, the skirt having an annular external flange at the upper end thereof; b. an internally tapered annular lock ring for engaging the skirt to prevent expansion thereof because of internal pressures within the dispenser, the taper of the lock ring converging towards the top of the housing and complementing the tapered surface of the skirt for substantially complete engagement of the tapered surface of the skirt, the diameter of the external flange of the skirt being less than the diameter of the largest diameter of the internal taper of the lock ring and larger than the diameter of the smallest diameter of the internal taper of the lock ring, whereby the lock ring can be placed over the external flange of the skirt and engage such flange with the internal taper intermediate the ends thereof and thereafter be forced to expand over the external flange into a locking position with the top of the ring axially adjacent the external flange for retention of the lock ring thereby; and c. valving means in the housing for selectively dispensing product from the pressurized dispenser.
 2. The improved dispensing valve claimed in claim 1 including a plurality of positioning lugs within the housing for engaging the top of the annular bead of the dispenser.
 3. The improved dispensing valve claimed in claim 1 wherein the retaining ring has an inner wall for the engagement of the skirt, an outer wall separated from the inner wall by an annular channel, and a plurality of ribs disposed at regularly spaced intervals in the channel between the two walls of the retaining ring.
 4. An improvement in the means of attaching a dispensing valve to a dispenser of the type which maintains a product under pressure for selective dispensation through the dispensing valve, the improvement comprising: a. an annular skirt at the base of the dispensing valve having an internal annular flange adapted to be received in an annular recess defineD by a bead and a proximate portion of the dispenser, the flange having an internal diameter less than the external diameter of the bead, the skirt having an externally tapered, axially extending, annular surface with the taper converging in a direction away from the axial end of the skirt, and an annular external flange at the inner longitudinal end of the tapered surface; and b. a lock ring having an annular, internally tapered surface complementing the externally tapered surface of the skirt for engaging the tapered surface of the skirt to prevent the skirt from expanding under internal pressure within the dispenser and free the annular flange from the recess, and an annular, radially extending surface for abutting the external flange of the skirt and preventing the lock ring from disengaging from the skirt.
 5. The improvement claimed in claim 4 including a plurality of locating lugs disposed within the skirt for engaging the upper portion of the bead, the locking ring has an internal wall which is the wall adapted to engage the tapered surface of the skirt and an outer wall separated from the inner wall by an annular channel, and a plurality of radially extending ribs connecting the inner and outer walls of the lock ring at regular intervals around the channel.
 6. The improvement claimed in claim 4 wherein the internal annular flange of the skirt has a tapered leading surface for expanding the skirt when the skirt is forced over the bead.
 7. The improvement claimed in claim 4 wherein the internal annular flange of the skirt has an upper surface shaped to conform to the lower surface of the bead to develop substantial surface-to-surface engagement.
 8. In combination with a dispenser of the type which is adapted to maintain a product to be dispensed under pressure and which has an external annular bead extending radially of an axially adjacent portion of the dispenser to define an annular recess and a dispensing valve on the dispenser for selectively dispensing product, an improvement in the means for attaching the dispensing valve to the balance of the dispenser comprising: a. the dispensing valve having a housing with an annular skirt overlying the bead and an annular, radially inwardly directed flange of the skirt received in the recess to attach the housing to the dispenser, the axial outer surface of the skirt being tapered from a free end thereof with the taper converging in a direction away from the dispenser, and an annular flange at the end of the tapered surface opposite the free end; and b. a lock ring having an internally tapered surface complementing the tapered surface of the skirt and in substantially complete contact therewith, and an annular shoulder for abutting the external flange of the skirt to prevent disengagement of the lock ring from the skirt in the direction of the tapers'' convergence, the lock ring preventing expansion of the skirt because of internal pressures within the dispenser.
 9. The improvement claimed in claim 8 wherein the housing has a plurality of spaced-apart lugs in engagement with the bead and cooperating with the flange of the skirt to firmly engage the bead, and the internal flange of the skirt has a surface in engagement with the bead in surface-to-surface contact with the bead.
 10. The improvement claimed in claim 9 wherein the interior surface of the skirt adjacent the internal flange of the skirt merges into the surface of such flange which engages the bead and such interior surface bears against the bead. 